Travel had become an awkward affair.

I found myself weak, and torn between feeling too cold, then too hot which caused me to sweat, which was then followed by feeling too cold again, but now damp from the sweat as well. I found it difficult to concentrate, and watching my surroundings did not come easily. Then, there was the fact that Larissen was still collared and leashed. He acted subdued, hardly speaking at all, with a distant gaze. The only person seemingly in good spirits was Gregory, who tried chatting with Kate repeatedly, only to be rebuked. Kate finally told him off, but even then, he still hung around her like a lost puppy.

And then there was Kate: subdued, sullen, and despondent.

The reprimands from Muleater must have gotten to her. It was easy to forget her youth, for while she looked no older than fifteen, she acted mature. She had entered combat, for mother’s sake. She clearly was younger than I, especially if she let a simple rebuke affect her so. Or perhaps that was hypocritical of me. Hard to say.

As we walked, the Caravan Master Manny Stillson continued attempting to salvage profits, starting, apparently, with Larissen.

“With the deceased’s property recovered,” Manny said, “We might iron out ownership rights sooner rather than later.” He spoke with a nervous tension, wringing his hands as he asked Muleater.

“This isn’t the time,” Muleater responded, focused outwards, along the cliffs surrounding the gorge. “We’ll figure it out later.”

“Well, we might,” the Caravan Master said, ignoring the dismissal. “But-”

Muleater groaned. “Just spit it out so then you can silence yourself.”

“When we do arrive, we will doubtlessly have many other pressing concerns. Would it not be better to clarify the contract now, at least verbally?”

Kate’s attention perked up, and Larissen scoffed, before eyeing me and mouthing ‘qavi.’ However, Muleater did appear to consider the merchant’s words, at least momentarily.

“I’ll be honest,” Muleater said, all the while continuing setting the pace, with everyone else following along as we approached the forking crevasse around where Apprentice Charson had been the night before. “I don’t envy you right now,” Muleater finished.

“Yes, well–” Stillson coughed. “-the situation is somewhat dire. Though it could be worse. We had insurance, fortunately…”

“Say,” Muleater scratched her chin, and acted as though she just thought of something. “If you’ll be claiming insurance, then wouldn’t the merchandise–” her eyes glossed over Larissen, and then myself, leaving both Kate and I stiffening by a fraction “-would they not be subtracted from that sum?”

“Well, there is some leeway–” the Caravan Master started in a hesitant tone.

“-I’m fairly certain there is a Crown Law regarding that as well. But I suppose you’re not planning on writing the entire event as a loss then…” I could almost hear the humor in her voice, though her enjoyment did little to remove the implicit threat that even I felt. I doubt anyone had forgotten that Lieutenant Janet Muleater was a lower knight, which I interpreted as this nation’s equivalent of a sheriff or a deputy.

“But of course I would never violate a Crown Law!” Manny protested quickly. “Afterall, I am a respectable guild member… I just thought there might be some uncertainties to work out.”

“Of course, of course. If you want to work those uncertainties out, you’ll need to bring it up with Sir Kate. She’s the one that recovered the property. After all.”

“Right,” the Caravan Master bowed slightly. “I’ll do that then.”

He did not, in fact, do that. He glanced back at Kate, then at Larissen, before falling back to walk in front of Ken and besides Gregory.

We continued walking, ascending the incline in a southerly direction. People were hopeful that we were coming to the end of the Gorge. With the incline, the narrowing of the walls, and the shortening of the walls, it would not be long until we escaped, and then we could plot a wider course to finish our journey. And from there, I would need to figure out how to either integrate into society, or pass through the human gates to pass through to the Jungles of Kaiva to the south.

However, we encountered a problem. An obstacle, more like.

At the peak of the hill, at the very mouth of the gorge, there was a large and hostile party awaiting us–of mikuya, or the wyrkwik, as the humans termed them. Personally, I felt that animated vegetation, or plant zombies, would be a more apt moniker. But while in Rome…

Regardless, there were far more of the mikuya waiting at the top of the hill than the three combat-worthy humans in our party. We had Ken, Janet, and Kate. There were at least a dozen or more mikuya, ranging from infested hundeor, a meohr, and even a few humans.

“Ambush!” Muleater shouted, drawing her sword. “Everyone, blades out!”

I thought the term ‘ambush’ may have been inappropriate, but I refrained from commenting, deciding it was better to avoid the lieutenant’s ire.

However, proving my point, the mikuya removed stationary, refusing to advance upon us, refusing to abandon their advantageous position. Something was amiss with all this, but I could not be certain of their motive. The scenario was not adding up. Despite these doubts, the humans pressed forward.

While we had been climbing the incline, Kate had been gracious enough to support most of my weight. But upon Muleater’s command, she partially shoved me off to draw her sword. She did spare me an apologetic glance as I collected myself.

“Sorry, I need my hands though,” she murmured.

“Ridiculous!” the Caravan Master shouted. “Absolutely preposterous! We travel for days from an ambush, fleeing through the rough, and–” he stopped when Kate thrust Larissen’s leash into his hands.

“If you won’t fight, then hold this.”

“A feral Beastborn?! This is not what I contracted you for, and you expect me to just…” he trailed off as Kate strode past him to join Muleater at the front.

“Who knows, perhaps it will protect you.”

“More likely to claw my throat out.”

“Better it than them,” Gregory nodded ahead. “Unless you’d prefer your chances up there?”

“Master Silverborn,” Stillson said, his patience failing. “This is no simple matter. Their sworn duty is to protect us!”

While the merchant and boy squabbled, the three guards began advancing in an irregular line. It turned into a free-action, as the mikuya were holding their position, radiating a smug patience with only the slightest undertone of anxiety.

I had regained my balance, still failing to comprehend the absolute idiocy of Muleater’s tactics. There must be a reason she chose to advance immediately. Was she worried the mikuya were waiting on reinforcements? But even then, the mikuya’s actions made no sense. Why wait to ambush us, in full view? Why had the previous infested meohr blocked our path, only to feign its own demise?

Muleater’s poor decision making had nothing on the mikuya’s irrationality. But no, I had to chide myself. While their motives were unknown to me, I could not assume any being was irrational. Even if their thought processes were foreign and strange. I just needed to understand them.

The facts ran through my mind quickly, far more quickly than they should have normally, which I attributed to either my ‘Sealed’ Mark, or the stress of the situation. The mikuya were an invasive species. They had demonstrated tactics and strategy that failed to align with any animalistic behavior I could think of, which fell far beyond their normal attributed aggression. Their behaviors appeared alien to the humans and Kaiva, who had at least heard of them before. The mikuya could infest organic lifeforms, causing mutations and takeover. It all joined together in a jumble that failed to make sense. But there had to be a larger pattern that fit the data. I lacked so much knowledge; I might have been missing a key piece. I could extrapolate, but my conclusions would be risky, possibly dangerous, depending on the assumptions made.

But had I been the only one making assumptions?

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The humans and Kaiva had made plenty of assumptions regarding the mikuya, from their motives to their behaviors, possibly even their habitats. If their assumptions were in error, then their conclusions, in fact, everything I had learned from them could be in error. Certainly, some of the generalities could hold true, but not in this specific case, which was what mattered.

Ken, Kate, and Muleater pushed forward at a hurried walk, their weapons out. They picked their way up the rocky slope, gravel crunching, their breath labored.

The mikuya remained still, watching, moving as little as plants while they waited, except for the occasional blink, or wind ruffling spotty fur or the tendrils permeating their flesh.

The humans still had ten yards to travel, and they began slowing now, approaching with more caution, with a wariness that must have been second-guessing their suicidal charge.

Gregory, Manny, Larissen, and myself remained further down the slope, by seventy yards, but still within view of the upcoming confrontation. Larissen appeared subdued, hardly sparing any attention at all for the humans, instead choosing to look at the fur on the back of his hands, still stained red from the blood of his sister.

I was absolutely certain that this was not a fight the humans could win. Kate was unable to beat a single meohr, and now there was a meohr and friends. Unless Janet and Ken were true masters of combat, unless they had some magic I had yet to see, there was almost no possibility that they could win.

Which meant I needed to plan for their failure. Which meant I needed to turn this into my opportunity, and I had a few thoughts on how to do so.

The mikuya still made no move. But they would soon, I could smell their readiness to pounce.

I still tried to understand the creature’s motives. Did they seek to entrap the humans? To keep us within the gorge? Perhaps they were wearing down their supplies, or running them to exhaustion… but if that were so, then that strategy would be foolish, as they could have taken the humans at any point.

Perhaps they were trying to herd the humans like cattle? But again, that would be foolish. They could simply restrain the humans and forcibly transport them to whichever destination they had in mind.

I doubted they had come all this way for a simple game, though the best motivation that I could use to ascribe their actions was that of play, of entertainment. But still, that did not feel right, but if true could be used to my advantage.

Regardless, the humans would lose this direct confrontation.

I could use this to earn Larissen’s freedom, to escape.

Kate would likely be injured, if not killed.

Could I stomach that? A part of me thought she deserved that or worse. But another part? No… I could not allow it! I needed to intervene. Desperate to prevent the pointless combat, I scrambled forward, lurching with each step and almost faceplanting.

“Stop!” I shouted, while winded, while running.

Muleater and Ken ignored me, while Kate might have flinched just slightly at my voice, before following Muleater and turning her focus, her laser like focus, upon the coming fight.

This was making no sense.

“Please hold!” I tried, stumbling once more and this time tripping all the way, pinwheeling my one and a half arms before catching myself on my elbow and stump.

Pain shot spasming up my arms. I gasped and rolled, hitting a sharp rock, because of course there were sharp rocks. But the pain, the flaring pain, did not matter. If this continued, there was a good chance of casualties, possibly all of us. And while the mikuya might spare me once more, relying on the mercy of an entity with unknown motivations would be even more foolish than Muleater’s decision to advance.

I struggled to climb back to my knees. A boot hit my back and sent me flailing back down to the rocky ground. More pain. Who had kicked me. I turned. It was the Caravan Master.

“Wha-” I croaked a question. Why had he done so? Was he ignorant that I meant to save us all, him included? How dense could the man be?

Manny sneered, keeping an eye on both me and Larissen, with Larissen’s leash in one hand, and a dagger in the other. The dagger still had specs of food on it from his last meal. Manny loomed above me, his girth prodigious.

“You think I don’t see what you’re doing?” Manny sneered. “It was always suspicious, your unknown links to the infestation, but you stopping our guards on the cusp of victory, when we’re nearly free of these blasted wastes?”

“They aren’t on the cusp of victory, you delusional fool!” I said, my voice still tight and strained, my strength leaving me as I suddenly felt far too cold.

“Of course they will,” the Caravan Master said. “It’s what they’re paid for.”

Gregory, of course, had to get in edgewise as well. “Faithless beast. You’ve seen Kate fight. She is a true prodigy. What are a few infested animals against her?”

“Who…” I licked my lips, “who’re you trying to, to convince?”

Larissen remained silent all the while, staring at his hands. Nonresponsive, as he had been for most of the trip. If, no when, the guards were pushed back, then Larissen would need to fight.

“Remove, the, collar,” I gasped.

“And free this beast?” Manny scoffed. “No. Now be a good pet and remain silent.”

These humans were idiots! All of them! It was so frustrating. Perhaps they deserved their fate. But did Kate? Maybe–no! I had to succeed. And besides a backwards glance, Kate continued forward, towards her demise.

“They’re not going to–”

“-he said be silent!” Gregory interjected, stamping his foot like a petulant child.

Were they all idiots? No, I had to assume they were not.

The Caravan Master was scared, and choosing to put his faith in the Chargers he spent on security to save him, and he was hopeful that we would soon be free of the gully and on our way to the outskirts of Southbridge. Gregory, he probably was an idiot, a love-struck fool, a person who perhaps excels technically but fails in all other categories. Muleater was choosing to attempt pushing through the mikuya despite the dangers, which I assumed she must have acknowledged. I could guess her motivations. Perhaps we lacked the supplies to turn around. Perhaps she hoped to push through before reinforcements could arrive and further sour our odds. Perhaps she was just tired of the gully. She had not shared her motivations with us.

Her motivations would not matter when the humans lay dead, when I was at the mercy of the mikuya.

My options were limited, but not completely exhausted. I reached into my jacket and removed several of the vials I had liberated from the Alchemist. None of them were ones I recognized, but I doubted anyone would, except Charson. None of them had labels, only the color of their content.

Neither Gregory nor the Caravan Master noticed my movement.

And then suddenly, the guards closed the distance, moving almost more quickly than my eyes could follow.

I was too late. They were too close. They were clashing, all of them following Muleater’s opening lunge.

Mikuya flesh was speared and sliced through. The suckling sound of blades pushing through wet flesh, the grinding when they hit something a little harder. But none of the infested creatures fell. Instead, as though of one mind, despite the fact that they were of varied species and sizes, they stepped forward, engulfing the blades within their own bodies, entrapping the weapons, de-clawing the humans.

Ken lost his grip on his sword, still firmly stuck in a fungal hundeor’s chest. The infested creature grinned and coughed and grabbed the hilt with both hands, falling back and away from him.

Muleater punched some nature of infested jaguar in the face. Teeth scraped against the steel plates on the knuckles of her gloves.

Kate pushed forward, separating from the other two humans, dancing between the mikuya, slicing in a whirlwind. However, despite what should be grievous wounds, from slit throats to impaled hearts, the infested continued to push forward, down into the Gully, pushing Ken and Muleater back, while two creatures prowled around Kate to encircle her, to keep her separated from the others.

A gnoll crashed into Muleater’s legs from the side. I thought she would topple, but she remained firm, slamming the hilt of her sword into its face.

None of the mikuya had fallen, not unless it was intentional. They always got back up. None of them smelled distressed. The humans, however, did. I lost sight of Kate behind the line of mikuya, but I believed she could survive. It was the rest of us that I worried about.

What could I do though? They were on the verge of catastrophe. I could throw the vials, but I could not be certain of their effects, and I could be certain the humans would suffer along with the mikuya, due to their proximity.

Manny’s boot was still upon my chest, though his attention was on the battle. That was the first thing I needed to change. I might have been too weak at present to fight my way up, but I had the vials.

“Let, me, up.” I spat out. The Caravan Master tore his gaze away from the fight and looked down at me. I twisted slightly, unbalancing his footing. He stepped back, frowning, until his eyes landed on the vials in my hand.

His eyes widened.

“You–those could win us the fight!” he said.

“Accurate. But. No… collar, off.”

Green spots were spinning around me. I would not last much longer, not with his weight upon me.

“Just take them from her!” Gregory shouted, bending down to rob me of them. I hissed and made to smash the vials.

“-wait!” Many said, urging caution. “A deal, yes? The vials for your friend’s freedom?”

“She clearly stole them from Apprentice Alchemist Charson,” Gregory grumbled, still bent over and partly reaching me. “Shouldn’t they be ours by right?”

“Try teaching a beast property laws,” Manny retorted.

I could barely keep my eyes on him.

I was slipping back into unconsciousness. I managed a nod.

He held out a hand to Gregory. Gregory paused, before reaching into a pocket and handing a bronze stick with a ruby on the end. The Caravan Master placed it in a square divot on Larissen’s collar and the metal fell off. I held my hand open, and Gregory snatched the vials up.

“Run those up, quickly now!”

The Caravan Master trailed after Gregory, but not running nearly so fast. Gregory made a beeline for Muleater. With the fat man off of me, I could finally breathe. The green spots began to fade.

Larissen crouched beside me, to assist me. Now that he was freed, some life seemed to return to his face. Oddly enough, his eyes had some cloudiness to them. And for just a moment, it was as if he mistook me for someone else. His expression softened.

“Kissen?” he asked.

“No,” I answered as softly as I could, unsure of how to react exactly. I decided that truth would be the best course though, especially as I felt certain his confusion would be momentary at most. “It’s me, Jackie.”

It was then that I heard the hiss-boom and felt the ground shake.